Chapter 77: Raid

On the elegant wooden desk were a bunch of documents laid in a neat pile. These documents recorded a lot of important information about the base and the military as a whole.

Zaos browsed through the information slowly, making sure to grasp every important detail he could find.

[Names of marshals, names of imperial commanders, military strategies, overall funds… There is a lot of information just casually sitting on this desk. Well, considering the owner's identity, it's not too odd.]

Low-rank marshals had a simple standing in the army of the dark-elf tribe. However, Gradamo Mandevon: the current leader of this base was backed by his older brother; the clan leader of the Mandevon clan, thus his status was higher than most low-rank marshals.

Zaos shook his head as he cursed his luck for being reborn into the body of someone without a strong background. Nonetheless, he didn't dwell on the matter, instead, he quickly returned his attention to the documents in his hands.

[The light mystic military base beyond the borders of this base is rather isolated… it looks like an easy target,] Zaos pondered deeply.

His original idea was to join the defending dark elves and silently devour the techniques of the light mystics, but after seeing this information, he began considering other possibilities.

[Attacking the light mystics' base seemed unrealistic but this camp is secluded and is run by the mystic human equivalent to a high elf; a grand mystic. I shouldn't struggle too much even if he turns out to be stronger than a regular high elf…] Zaos grinned widely with his battle intent overflowing.

[Besides, this is much faster than my previous idea. The risk seems less too,] Having successfully convinced himself, Zaos rearranged the documents to the best of his abilities before exiting the base.

He opted against teleporting and instead utilized his less taxing abilities like invisibility and phantom walking.

A few minutes later, Zaos exited the premises without the knowledge of the numerous elves in the base. This little detail gave him a bit more confidence in the plan he was about to execute.

After leaving the secret tunnel and returning to the mountain's foot, Zaos approached the narrow valley between the two major mountains at the border.

The path through the valley was wide enough for seven elves to go through at a time and on the mountain rocks surrounding it were guard posts with dark elves stationed within them.

Zaos stealthily walked through the valley as he observed the guard posts closely.

[I can't sense the presence of any high-ranking elves in them…] Zaos breathed a sigh of relief before quickening his pace.

Once beyond the borders, Zaos arrived at a vast desolate plain. This large expanse of flat land had a thick aura of death as a heavy scent of decay pervaded the air and bones of various natures littered the environment.

[So this is the battlefield…] Zaos' gaze remained tranquil as he gazed at this disturbing scene. He wasn't fazed as he was used to such carnage at this point.

After a quick look around, Zaos spotted the hazy outline of the light mystics' camp a distance away from the battlefield. He wasted no time, making his way over to the camp in haste.

A little while longer, Zaos stood a few hundred meters away from the rather massive camp. The camp boasted a larger number of tents clustered together in a tight formation. However, this did not impede the movements of the mystic humans situated in them.

Zaos could see full armored figures patrolling around the brightly lit camp. They all had serious expressions as they scanned the environment vigilantly with the aid of light orbs floating around the camp.

[According to the Intel, this camp has around 400 troops including their leader. I can't rashly start an assault against such numbers…] Following this train of thought, Zaos took a step back and began scouting out the area around the camp.

The camp was a distance away from the desolate battlefield so a bit of vegetation surrounded it. Yet, there were no signs of wild beasts or savage beasts in the area. These creatures were probably killed off by the light mystics or they never existed in the area in the first place.

Zaos spent a long time familiarizing himself with the terrain. He also utilized this period to watch the routine of the mystic humans in the camp.

After approximately two days of constantly surveying the mystic humans' routines, Zaos decided to act.

[It's currently late into the night and it's time for the patrolling knights to switch with their companions. The camp's defense is at the lowest point, this is my best chance!] Zaos dashed into the camp at incredible speeds while employing his invisibility.

He zipped past several groggy guards who had just been awoken, successfully infiltrating the base.

Once inside, Zaos acted quickly, silently assassinating a large majority of the mystics as they slumbered.

When his kill count hit 100, a loud shout resounded in the camp.

"Intruder! There is an assassin!!"

The voice alerted the entire base as groups of light mystics poured out of their tents with weapons drawn.

"Despicable elves! They dare launch a night raid?!"

"Where are the rats? Come out so I can hack you to pieces!"

Various curses were thrown as the mystic humans cast their magic spells that illuminated every corner of the camp. The strong beams of light were like spotlights driving away all the darkness in the camp.

Under these numerous lights, Zaos' invisibility barely held on as the amount of void mana used to maintain it tripled.

[Incredible! The light mystic's abilities can strain my powers to such an extent!] This development shocked Zaos but he didn't dwell in his surprise for long as his spiritual strength was being rapidly expended by the lights. If this continued, he would reach his mana usage limit and become exhausted. In such an environment this was a death sentence!

Swiftly canceling his invisibility, Zaos activated another elemental weave. Immediately, a large amount of purple-black fog spread out in all directions with him as the focal point. The fog devoured all the lights and rapidly engulfed the mystic humans closest to him.

"There! The assassin is there!"

"Is that a smoke screen or poison gas…"

"Does matter, surround the area! Don't let the rats escape!"

Zaos' actions immediately attracted the attention of the light mystics not engulfed by the fog. They moved further away from the fog while maintaining a tight formation around it.

Hearing their conversations, Zaos knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything if he continued his current actions so he retrieved the purple-black fog revealing a desolate scene around him.

"Is that the assassin?"

"Where did the people around him go?"

The light mystics were momentarily stunned as they gazed at the scene with aghast expressions.

Without waiting for them to recover from their daze, Zaos charged into the formation brandishing his short sword while still sporting Almur's appearance.